But, if there is a need for greater "democratic freedom', how can murder help it grow?
Some would claim that it's worth it in the long run. But how to know that democratic reform wouldn't have happened peacefully in the long run? Why kill for the long run?
Saddam Hussein was violently removed 10 years ago. A lot could have happened in 10 years in Iraq. We will never know, but we do know what Iraq looks like now and what its prospects are for the next 5 years or so.
So the question arises: what is the Real reason for all these Orwellian non-causes for war after war?
It happens to be the case that when a violent uprising or yet another US/NATO attack takes place somewhere, the war-oriented economy of the West benefits somehow or the other, be it through war equipment, services or weapons sales; loot; or cheap energy grab.
War is a great job creator for the West's war industries.
Apparently so are the corporations, particularly the energy and weapons industries, always moving hand in hand like true global soul mates, forever growing in energy and fire power.
The average Westerner therefore believes that s/he benefits from imperial plunder, even if indirectly. This may help explain their lethargy when war and loot continue to recur with alarming regularity in their name, for their alleged beliefs, and in large part paid for by their taxes.
Civil society in Action indeed. Mafia style global protection.
Problem is, this barbaric image of the West is predominant in the rest of the world. And this means that the causes of democracy and secularism are hard to defend in the world today.
In short, the West has given democracy and secularism a bad name.
What makes matters worse for secular democrats in the world is that the Chinese model of a "benevolent dictatorship' is gaining traction globally, including in the West. Many progressives are losing hope not just in the current political elite in the West -- as a corrupt and inept bunch in the face of a financial collapse caused by powerful thieving bankers -- but they are also losing hope in the ability of the general Western public to rise to the challenge.
Some are questioning the morality and efficiency of democracy itself as an organising principle. This rising support for "benevolent' authoritarianism is matched by a rising fundamentalist challenge -- a subject that we shall return to in my next article.
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